1000 Words
by Chris Ganale
Summary: On the eve of the assault to retake Balamb Garden from Galbadia, Squall takes the first step toward his future with Rinoa.


It's one-shot time again! After reading Angelprinczess29's "To Love You More" fic last night that was sorely lacking in SquallxRinoa fluff, I had to write another one-shot lest I go into withdrawal or something nasty like that. In any case, it's yet again titled after the song I was listening to at the time. Actually, in this case, it's titled after the final song I listened to. Cuz I was flip-flopping between a lot of the Final Fantasy love themes looking for the right one. :

Disclaimer: Don't own Final Fantasy 8, Squall, Rinoa, Ellone, Laguna, or Esthar. Nor do I own the Griever ring. However, the idea of sticking a diamond in Griever's mouth and turning it into an engagement ring more or less belongs to me. You people may think it's retarded, but as far as I'm concerned, Rinoa would find such a thing to be extremely romantic, considering that the Griever ring is Squall's favorite ring.

* * *

Squall Leonhart knew, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that he had never been so scared or nervous in all his life. Not when he'd been chased through the streets of Dollet by a Galbadian spider-weapon that refused to die. Not when he alone had faced down Sorceress Edea in the streets of Deling City. Not when the might of Galbadia's Army had been poised to destroy Garden and kill them all at the Battle of Centra.

As he knelt there on the floor of the high-class Estharian restaurant that Laguna had gotten them a reservation to, looking up into Rinoa's tearing eyes as he waited for her answer, he was painfully aware of the silence that had fallen as all eyes turned to them.

_Ellone turned around at the sound of her name and smiled to find Squall standing behind her. "Hello, Squall. Is there something I can do for you?"_

_Squall nodded, extending his hand to her on which rested his Griever ring. "Do you know of any place where I can go to get this modified?"_

_At his nod of approval, Ellone picked up the ring and looked at it, wondering what exactly he could want to do with it. "Modify it? Yes, I know of a jeweler. What do you want to do with it?"_

_He fidgeted slightly and looked around first to make sure they weren't being overheard by anyone. "I, uh... I was... IwantedtoputadiamondinGriever'smouth," he said all in a rush._

_Ellone couldn't help but giggle slightly at his nervous. "Why Squall, whatever for?" She had a good idea why he wanted to do that to his favorite ring..._

"_I... I decided to propose to Rinoa, and I don't know what kind of ring to get her. And she really likes my ring, and I noticed that you could fit a ring in Griever's mouth so..."_

_Ellone smiled and nodded. "I understand, Squall. Come on, let's go!" Before he could begin to protest, she had grabbed his hand and was already dragging him out of the Presidential Palace._

_Half an hour later, Squall stood looking around Ellone's favorite jewelry shop as she detailed the modifications to the Griever ring and the reason behind them. The jeweler caught Squall's attention and gave him a nod and a smile. "Congratulations, son. I'll put my best effort into this ring, and I hope you and your loved one have a happy life together."_

_Squall smiled and nodded in return. "Thank you." Truth of the matter was, he was completely distracted by precisely when he would propose._

_As the jeweler printed out a receipt for Ellone, she turned to Squall and, seeming to read his mind, asked, "When are you going to propose to her?"_

"_I, uh... I don't know."_

"_You want it to be the most special day of her life, right?"_

"_Yes." Squall thought about that. "Well, up until the wedding, of course."_

_Ellone smiled knowingly. "Then you must propose over a candlelight dinner. I know the perfect place. It's got a very romantic atmosphere. Uncle Laguna could get you reservations easily."_

_Squall fidgeted again, for once not thinking of his father as the bumbling moron that he usually considered him to be. "Uhh... If he has to get the reservations, that means it must be an expensive place."_

_Ellone raised her hands, feigning having been caught. "You got me, Squall. It's what you might consider high-class."_

_At having his suspicions confirmed, Squall sighed and turned his head to the side, bringing his right hand up to his forehead. "Elle, no. I can't..."_

_She smiled. "Squall, I hate to be so blunt, but just this once, stuff your pride. You'd be doing this for Rinoa, remember? A candlelight dinner at the most romantic spot in the entire country, and then a proposal from the man she loves. What more could she want?"_

_He nodded slightly, seeing the sense in her words. Ellone was right. She was always right. Even back when they were children at the orphanage, she always had a way with words that allowed her to easily change Squall's mind whenever she knew she was right._

"_Okay then, Ellone. You can tell Laguna to get the reservations, and we'll go. I just hope she doesn't suspect anything. She has a habit of being able to see right through me when I lie to her about important things."_

_Ellone giggled. "Then let us hope she hasn't yet learned to read your mind." She looked at the receipt in her hands. "The ring will be ready tomorrow. I'll go get the ring for you when it's done, and I'll have Uncle Laguna make the reservations for tomorrow night. Sound good?"_

_He nodded. "Sounds perfect, Elle."_

_The next night found he and Rinoa sitting at a small table in what was probably the most expensive restaurant in Esthar, enjoying their dinner in a romantic quiet. Rinoa commented every now and again how much she loved Squall for being so nice to her, and inquired, without success, why he had decided on that particular restaurant._

_After they had finished their dinner, and waving off the waiter with a discreet motion of his hand under the table, Squall decided it was now or never. He palmed the box that held the remodeled Griever ring into his right hand, then slid out of his seat and took a step toward Rinoa._

"_Going to the bathroom?" she asked with a giggle._

_He smiled nervously and shook his head, then took her hands in his and dropped to a knee. As soon as she recognized what he was doing, her eyes widened in surprise and she gasped, tearing up almost immediately._

"_Rinoa, I love you with every fiber of my being. You are my angel, and without you, life is not worth living." He released her hands and opened the box that held Griever's ring, now resized so that it would fit on Rinoa's small hand, and with a diamond embedded in Griever's mouth glittering in the candlelight of the table. "Rinoa Heartilly, will you marry me?"_

His heart pounded in his chest, some self-depreciating piece of himself wondering when she would tell him no. Forcefully, he squashed down that part of him. There was no way, no way in hell that she would say no. He knew it with every part of his soul that she was so much a part of.

A choked sob escaped her and she nodded, temporarily unable to find her voice. She closed her eyes, placed a hand over her rapidly-beating heart, and took a deep breath, then looked down at Squall again. "Yes," she breathed. "Yes, Squall. I'll marry you."

A great joy swelling up inside him, Squall pulled the ring out of the box and slipped it onto her left hand, then clicked the box shut and returned it to his pocket before he stood up, pulled Rinoa into his arms, and kissed her.

Around them, the restaurant broke into applause and cheers at the young couple, and Rinoa pulled back from Squall, looking around with her cheeks burning red. "Did you arrange that?" she asked accusingly, mock-glaring at him.

He shook his head slowly, then smiled and leaned back in, and she moved forward to meet him, their lips coming together as the other patrons of the restaurant continued to cheer their engagement.

Squall had always thought that it would take a thousand words to tell Rinoa how much he loved her. In that moment, he realized that it had only taken six words and a ring.

* * *

A/N: New feature! I now have a shout-out section for those of you who have reviewed my other one-shots!  
  
Lessien-Saralonde: Thanks! I take great pride in my skill as a writer/RPer.  
  
Karaoke Risa: Thanks for the kind words. . You'll be pleased to know that there's a fic in existance that creeps me out/strikes me much closer to home than yours. This other fic even uses the exact words I've actually said to her! :O  
  
Sadistic Shadow: Hehe, yeah, I did the L337 thing. May or may not go back to it, as my partner and I don't really feel n00bish that much except when we're playing Battlefield 1942 and crashing planes into trees. XD And you're on Gaia, eh? Perhaps you could look me or my RP up sometime. We're in the GGN, and our name is "Liberi Fatali - The Children of Fate"  
  
Saerafina: Hullo! Where's everybody been in that? ;-; I miss the randomness of the Garden Square.  
  
Pretty Green Eyes: Heh, looks like you're getting your wish!  



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